Imagine breaking into an airport, armed with fire extinguishers full of orange paint, all to make a point about celebrity excess—only to hit the wrong planes.
That’s exactly what two Just Stop Oil activists did at Stansted airport, northeast of London, in a misguided attempt to protest Taylor Swift’s private jet usage. Their stunt, while attention-grabbing, raises serious questions about the methods of climate activism and the protection of private property.
Breitbart reported that Jennifer Kowalski, 29, and Cole Macdonald, 23, both members of the climate group Just Stop Oil, dodged jail time on Monday after damaging two private planes in June 2024, mistakenly targeting them as Swift’s jet during her UK tour.
This saga began when Kowalski and Macdonald breached a fence at Stansted airport, sneaking into a restricted airfield zone. Their mission? To splash orange paint on what they believed was Taylor Swift’s plane, protesting her well-documented reliance on private jets.
Using fire extinguishers loaded with orange paint, the duo unleashed their colorful critique on two aircraft. But here’s the twist: Swift’s jet wasn’t even at the airport, as confirmed by local police, and the damaged planes belonged to an insurance firm and an investment group. Talk about a misfire that still cost someone dearly.
The activists insisted they acted on the belief that Swift’s plane had landed hours earlier. Yet, this sloppy intel didn’t save them from charges of criminal damage, even if it did highlight their zeal to spotlight environmental concerns.
Just Stop Oil, known for dramatic stunts like defacing famous artworks and infrastructure with orange paint, has a history of such public disruptions. Their stated goal is to combat the use of planet-warming fossil fuels, but one wonders if vandalizing private property is the best way to win hearts and minds.
A court in east England opted for leniency, handing down short suspended jail sentences rather than immediate incarceration. This decision might frustrate those who see property damage as a clear-cut crime, not a platform for ideological grandstanding. Still, it reflects a judicial attempt to balance punishment with the activists’ stated intent.
Judge Alexander Mills didn’t mince words about the stunt’s true purpose. “The actions of the two of you were all about publicity – both for Just Stop Oil and for yourselves,” he said. And isn’t that the rub—using shock tactics to grab headlines rather than fostering real dialogue?
The judge went further, pointing out the calculated nature of their target. “What greater publicity could there be than anything related to Taylor Swift?… That’s what you hoped to achieve,” Mills added. It’s hard to argue with that logic; Swift’s name alone guarantees clicks and outrage, but at what cost to credibility?
Now, let’s not ignore the elephant in the room: Taylor Swift’s environmental footprint. She’s faced flak from green advocates for frequent private jet travel, even topping a 2022 list by a British sustainability firm as one of the worst celebrity CO2 offenders. That’s a fair critique, though it doesn’t justify criminal acts to make the point.
Just Stop Oil, for its part, framed the trial as a David-versus-Goliath battle. Their statement read, “The trial demonstrates, again, the establishment will protect the wealthy and privileged while punishing those seeking to protect us and defend our freedoms and natural justice.”
This victimhood narrative might resonate with some, but it sidesteps accountability for the actual damage done.
Interestingly, Just Stop Oil announced back in March 2024 that they were stepping away from high-profile climate protests, claiming success in halting new oil and gas projects in the UK. If that’s true, why this stunt? It smells more like a relapse into attention-seeking than a coherent strategy.
The broader question this incident raises is where activism crosses into lawlessness. While concerns about climate change are valid and urgent, targeting private property—especially the wrong property—undermines the cause with reckless antics. There’s a fine line between passion and chaos, and these two seem to have tripped over it.